Cavegirls Battle Wildcats to 3-3 Stalemate

By Don Eskins

They didn’t get the win they were looking for in Lovington on Tuesday afternoon, August 18, but they didn’t get a loss either.

What the Carlsbad Cavegirl soccer team did get was a 3-3 tie and a good start on the 2026 season.

“After so much practicing during the off-season and this summer, it was really great to finally get to watch these girls compete in a match that had some meaning,” said Cavegirl head coach Misty Long. “The most important thing about our girls’ effort, though, was that they kept working, and because of that, we were able to get some really good looks.

“We must have hit the posts three or four times, which was a bit of tough luck for us,” she said. “But the good thing was that we were creating opportunities to take shots.”

Not hitting the post on all of their shots were Cavegirls Emma Allen, Izzy Elebario, and Kate Barnhart. All three made good on shots to account for CHS’s three goals. Also having big days were Buggy Renfro, who logged an assist, and Shayla Blaine, who registered three saves en route to their season-opening stalemate with the Wildcats.

As for the Wildcats’ three goals, Long made this observation: “The three goals we conceded during the game were mistakes that Lovington capitalized on.

“We started a whole new back line, and we had a few hiccups, but overall, our staff feels that our girls made some good strides in Lovington,” she said.

“We have some work ahead of us,” added Long, “but we now have a path forward, and we’ll do what we can to correct those things before our next game.”

On Friday and Saturday, August 28-29, the Cavegirls will travel to the City of Crosses to compete in the Las Cruces Public Schools Invitational.

According to MaxPreps, Carlsbad will open tournament play against the Gadsden Panthers (14-6-1 in 2025) on Friday at 10 a.m.

MaxPreps Scoreboard

1 2 F

Cavegirls 1 2 3

Wildcats 1 2 3